A horse? Having a job

Yesterday as I was quickly looking through the ads on Craig’s List I came across one for a horse that caught my eye. It advertized a 4 year old mare that was due to foal within the next sixty days. The package deal was for $275. The mare was said to be gentle but not much more than halter trained. I emailed the ad to myself so I could show it to Mama and Victoria. That turned out to be a real hit.


I actually got to tell Grandpa and Grandma first since Mama, Victoria and both house dogs were stretched out sleeping as though they had been up all night – or had actually done something that morning. Grandpa was pretty excited about the idea. Grandma was ecstatic and as soon as either Victoria or Mama walked in the bedroom where she too was laying down, she told them what little she knew of the news.

Victoria raced to her room, looked it up on her computer and saw the pictures posted with the ad, ran to get Mama who immediately called the number. Before she got off the phone with the lady selling the mare she had arranged for a Friday pickup of the animal. After Mama confirmed with Grandpa that he would make the target date she called Cori to tell her the news. So Cori opened my email account and showed the pictures to Mykenzie and Grant. So it’s a done deal now. I’ll be the worst Papi in the world if I do not go through with this. I guess I started it so I might as well finish it.

Grandma has been after Victoria to quit her job so she can work full time with Grandpa. Mind you, Grandpa does need some help but he has no money, nor by virtue of that does Grandma, with which to pay Victoria as she insists she can. Her idea is that Grandpa and Victoria buy a sprayer and spray AgGrand products on fields for hire. They have no leads, no contracts for work, no sprayer and no AgGrand products to use for the proposed business. Great idea. Poor timing.

I interrupted the lecture and told Victoria that it is rarely a good idea to quit a job without the certainty of having another job to go to. I reminded Grandma that Victoria has obligations (Faith Promise) and bills that she still has to pay and to the best of my knowledge, earning money through hours worked is the most reasonable path to meeting those obligations for the moment.

The argument did not garner total buy in from Grandma but it did take some of the intensity of the discussion off of Victoria. I am fairly certain that Grandpa, who was not in the room at the time, would agree with me. Working for a living is still the number one way to meet financial obligations. I did not say it was the best way, but it is the most certain for Victoria at this point in her life. Until the farm and any side business is producing enough income to provide more income than hours worked for a company, I would recommend for her to continue reporting for her scheduled hours.

She, like me, will miss the trip to get the horse transported to her new home. However, she, unlike me, will probably be there for the birth of the foal in April. Almost no thought is given to the fact that I get to spend very little time in the enterprise I am funding, I am pretty certain no one would encourage me to walk away from the job I have to spend more time on the farm. Mama keeps telling me that it is harder and harder to return to Amarillo after a week in Bowie and I am sure it is, but I have not had the chance to form the attachments that she is forming or invest myself emotionally as she has.

My four or five hours a week on the farm has not allowed me that attachment yet. I am still occupied with the day to day operation of the venture while working fifty to sixty hours per week at my day job. My turn will come, but it may be several years away and even then I will have to work some type of full time job to meet all the financial needs we will still have.

My hope is that by that time our full time focus will be our herb shop.